Central respiratory diseases include disorders that affect breathing during sleep or while a person is awake. Central respiratory diseases are associated with incorrect sensing of carbon dioxide or oxygen levels in the blood. If nerve receptors do not send the correct neural signals, in essence deceiving the brain by reporting incorrect levels of carbon dioxide or oxygen, an incidence of a central respiratory disease can occur. The brain responds by slowing breathing, and even ceasing breathing in extreme cases.
Respiratory disorders during sleep and during the day include central sleep apnea or hypopnea and periodic breathing or dyspnea, respectively. Central sleep apnea refers to the cessation of breathing during sleep, and hypopnea refers to abnormally slow or shallow breathing during sleep. Both conditions have serious health consequences, including association with cardiac arrhythmias.